What does “revitalization” mean for Purcellville?

By John Ellis

Those who use political buzz words and those who are listening may have widely different interpretations of what the words actually mean.

Take the word “revitalization.”

As one of many who hopes Purcellville will maintain its charming small town character, I was taken aback when the Mayor objected to the following proposed goal statement for the Town’s Planning Commission:

“[The Planning Commission] Promotes historic preservation, pedestrian accessibility, and design standards that support downtown revitalization.”

On the surface, this sounds like something he and other preservationists would enthusiastically endorse. Why would he take issue with it?

My guess is that the objection reflects a fear that the word “revitalization” might be exploited by development interests to justify large-scale residential or commercial developments that could fundamentally change the town’s character and appeal.

This fear doesn’t seem entirely hypothetical. 

During the public input portion of the May 27 Town Council meeting, the President of the Purcellville Business Association, Jason Sengpiehl, criticized the Town Council for “missed opportunities to revitalize our business community through well planned annexation efforts, infill development and infrastructure improvements.”

To tease out what the different parties mean by “revitalization,” we need to look more closely at the context. There are obviously significant differences.

In the case of the Planning Commission’s goal statement, revitalization is achieved with attention to “historic preservation, pedestrian accessibility, and design standards.” It suggests that residents’ quality of life should be taken into account.

Mr. Sengpiehl’s version focuses on the interests of the business community and, even more narrowly, on specific types of business that would benefit from infill development and annexations. 
It isn’t clear if the end product would consider historic preservation, pedestrian accessibility, related design standards and citizens’ quality of life. We have to guess if it would be satisfied with data centers, box stores, parking lots, strip malls or other out-of-character projects on the west end of town.

Despite the apparent differences, the positions are not necessarily mutually exclusive. It would be a great community service if the Town’s polarized and apparently hostile camps could get together amicably and professionally to try to find some common ground.

The “Yard at O Street,” between 21st Street and Hatcher Avenue, might be a good place to start. The Town’s Comprehensive Plan has long called for some kind of revitalization there. The goal is to replace empty or blighted lots with an attractive “mixed use” neighborhood that would include affordable, small unit residences and small scale commercial establishments designed to complement and blend in with the surrounding historic buildings. The neighborhood would have ample green spaces and common areas, and would be easily accessible for pedestrians. 

Incidentally, adding more water and sewer system users would also reduce at least some of the pressure on residents’ and businesses’ utility bills.

Unfortunately, traffic congestion is a major obstacle to any potential infill development in Purcellville. Additional housing and commercial traffic in the middle of the town would only exacerbate the existing problem. When I’ve raised this issue with business leaders, the response has been a casual shrug, as if the problem would take care of itself. It won’t.

Having identified this obstacle, however, I don’t have an easy solution to offer. Improved public transportation that helps residents reduce their dependence on their cars is an obvious suggestion. But that is unpopular with many people — including, I’m afraid, many of my preservationist friends. I would love to hear other ideas.

In any case, to have a constructive debate over Purcellville’s “revitalization,” we need a clear, shared vocabulary. And we need practical proposals that address the interests of both citizens and businesses.

Let’s start that conversation.

John Ellis serves on the boards of Save Rural Loudoun and the Between the Hills Conservancy. He lives near Hillsboro and was an independent candidate for Catoctin District county supervisor in 2023.